Botanical nomenclature

For terminology used in describing plants, seeGlossary of plant morphology.

Botanical nomenclatureis the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct fromtaxonomy.Plant taxonomyis concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature isLinnaeus'Species Plantarumof 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by theInternational Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants(ICN), which replaces theInternational Code of Botanical Nomenclature(ICBN).Fossil plantsare also covered by the code of nomenclature.

Within the limits set by that code there is another set of rules, theInternational Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)which applies to plantcultivarsthat have been deliberately altered or selected by humans (seecultigen).

Botanical nomenclature is independent of other systems of nomenclature, for examplezoological nomenclature.This implies that animals can have the same generic names as plants (e.g. there is a genusIrisin plants and a genusIrisin animals).

History and scope

Botanical nomenclature has a long history, going back beyond the period when Latin was the scientific language throughout Europe, toTheophrastus(c. 370–287 BC),Dioscorides(c. 40 – 90 AD) and otherGreekwriters. Many of these works have come down to us inLatintranslations. The principal Latin writer on botany wasPliny the Elder(23–79 AD). From Mediaeval times, Latin became the universal scientific language (lingua franca) in Europe. Most written plant knowledge was the property of monks, particularlyBenedictine,and the purpose of those earlyherbalswas primarily medicinal rather than plant scienceper se.It would require the invention of theprinting press(1450) to make such information more widely available.

Leonhart Fuchs,a German physician and botanist, is often considered the originator of Latin names for the rapidly increasing number of plants known to science. For instance he coined the nameDigitalisin hisDe Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes(1542).

A key event wasLinnaeus’adoption ofbinomial namesfor plant species in hisSpecies Plantarum(1753).

In the nineteenth century it became increasingly clear that there was a need for rules to govern scientific nomenclature, and initiatives were taken to refine the body of laws initiated by Linnaeus. These were published in successively more sophisticated editions. For plants, key dates are 1867 (loisde Candolle) and 1906 (International Rules of Botanical Nomenclature,'Vienna Rules'). The most recent is theShenzhen Code,adopted in 2018.

Another development was the insight into the delimitation of the concept of 'plant'. Gradually more and more groups of organisms are being recognised as being independent of plants. Nevertheless, the formal names of most of these organisms are governed by the (ICN), even today. Someprotiststhat do not fit easily into either plant or animal categories are treated under either or both of the ICN and theICZN.A separateCodewas adopted to govern the nomenclature of Bacteria, theInternational Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria.

Relationship to taxonomy

Botanical nomenclature is closely linked to plant taxonomy, and botanical nomenclature serves plant taxonomy, but nevertheless botanical nomenclature is separate from plant taxonomy. Botanical nomenclature is merely the body of rules prescribing which name applies to that taxon (seecorrect name) and if a new name may (or must) be coined.

Planttaxonomyis an empirical science, a science that determines what constitutes a particulartaxon(taxonomic grouping, plural: taxa): e.g. "What plants belong to this species?" and "What species belong to this genus?". The definition of the limits of a taxon is called its 'circumscription'. For a particular taxon, if two taxonomists agree exactly on its circumscription,rankand position (i.e. the higher rank in which it is included) then there is only one name which can apply under theICN.Where they differ in opinion on any of these issues, one and the same plant may be placed in taxa with different names. As an example, consider Siehe's Glory-of-the-Snow,Chionodoxa siehei:

Flowers ofChionodoxa siehei,which can also be calledScilla siehei,or included inChionodoxa forbesiior inScilla forbesii

• Taxonomists can disagree as to whether two groups of plants are sufficiently distinct to be put into one species or not. ThusChionodoxa sieheiandChionodoxa forbesiihave been treated as a single species by some taxonomists or as two species by others.If treated as one species, the earlier published name must be used,so plants previously calledChionodoxa sieheibecomeChionodoxa forbesii.
• Taxonomists can disagree as to whether two genera are sufficiently distinct to be kept separate or not. While agreeing that the genusChionodoxais closely related to the genusScilla,nevertheless the bulb specialistBrian Mathewconsiders that their differences warrant maintaining separate genera.Others disagree, and would refer toChionodoxa sieheiasScilla siehei.The earliest published genus name must be used when genera are merged;in this caseScillawas published earlier and is used (notChionodoxa).
• Taxonomists can disagree as to the limits of families. When theAngiosperm Phylogeny Group(APG) first published its classification of the flowering plants in 1998,Chionodoxa sieheiwould have been placed in the family Hyacinthaceae.In the 2009 revision of their classification, the APG no longer recognize the Hyacinthaceae as a separate family, merging it into a greatly enlarged familyAsparagaceae.ThusChionodoxa sieheimoves from the Hyacinthaceae to the Asparagaceae.
• Taxonomists can disagree as to the rank of a taxon. Rather than allow the Hyacinthaceae to disappear altogether, Chase et al. suggested that it be treated as a subfamily within the Asparagaceae.TheICNrequires family names to end with "-aceae" and subfamily names to end with "-oideae".Thus a possible name for the Hyacinthaceae when treated as a subfamily would be 'Hyacinthoideae'. However, the nameScilloideaehad already been published in 1835 as the name for a subfamily containing the genusScilla,so this name has priority and must be used.Hence for those taxonomists who accept the APG system of 2009,Chionodoxa sieheican be placed in the subfamily Scilloideae of the family Asparagaceae. However, a taxonomist is perfectly free to continue to argue that Hyacinthaceae should be maintained as a separate family from the other families which were merged into the Asparagaceae.

In summary, if a plant has different names or is placed in differently named taxa:

• If the confusion is purely nomenclatural, i.e. it concerns what to call a taxon which has the same circumscription, rank and position, theICNprovides rules to settle the differences, typically by prescribing that the earliest published name must be used, although names can beconserved.
• If the confusion is taxonomic, i.e. taxonomists differ in opinion on the circumscription, rank or position of taxa, then only more scientific research can settle the differences, andeven then only sometimes.

Accepted names

Various botanical databases such asPlants of the World OnlineandWorld Flora Onlinemake determinations as to whether a name isaccepted,e.g. accepted species. If a name is not accepted, it may be because the name is asynonymfor a name that is already accepted, and is listed as such. Another term isambiguousto denote a name that is not accepted because its separate existence cannot be reliably determined. For instance, specimens that are damaged, immature or the necessary information or expertise ids not available. This can lead toabundances,multiple published names for the same entity.

See also

General

• Scientific classification
• Binomial nomenclature
• Nomenclature Codes

Botany

• Botanical name
• International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants
  • Correct name (botany)
  • Author citation (botany)
  • Hybrid name (botany)
• International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
• International Plant Names Index:lists names of published seed plants and ferns
• International Association for Plant Taxonomy
• Paleobotany

Bibliography

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• Stearn, William T.(1992) [1966].Botanical Latin: history, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary(4 ed.). Portland, Or.: Timber Press.ISBN9780881923216.Retrieved19 February2015.
• Stearn, William T.(2002) [1992].Stearn's dictionary of plant names for gardeners: a handbook on the origin and meaning of the botanical names of some cultivated plants.Portland, Or.: Timber Press.ISBN978-0881925562.Retrieved19 February2015.
• Bernhardt, Peter (2008).Gods and goddesses in the garden: Greco-Roman mythology and the scientific names of plants.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.ISBN9780813542669.Retrieved19 February2015.
• Cuffney, T. F.; Bilger, M. D.; Haigler, A. M. (2007)."Ambiguous taxa: effects on the characterization and interpretation of invertebrate assemblages"(PDF).J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc.26(2): 286–307.doi:10.1899/0887-3593(2007)26[286:ATEOTC]2.0.CO;2.S2CID84648095.
• Morgan, Michelle (October 2005)."Botanical Latin: The Poetry of Herb Names"(PDF).Number 89.MediHerb. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 September 2012.Retrieved19 February2015.
• Fuchs, Leonhart(1642).De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes.Basileae: In officina Isingriniana.Retrieved20 February2015.